Vital support from Marine

VITAL work to ensure British forces have properly-maintained equipment in Afghanistan is being helped by the efforts of a South Yorkshire Royal Marine.

For the last five months, Lance Corporal Scott Milthorpe, aged 34, from Barnsley, has been one of a team of 13 marines and soldiers from 40 Commando Royal Marine’s Light Aid Detachment carrying out the work.

The group have kept vehicles, weapons, electrical equipment and more or less anything else working correctly.

Located in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Central Helmand, the Light Aid Detachment has been kept busy with the demands of maintaining the advanced equipment that the ground troops need.

Scott took skills from his previous civilian role to become one of the LAD’s specialist metalsmiths in Afghanistan.

He said: “I do a variety of things from little repairs on protective vehicle ‘bar’ armour, making gates for patrol bases and checkpoints and any other metal work.

“I have even made a pull up station for the lads to train on, which is good for morale and fitness.

“Before I joined the Royal Marines I was a welder/fabricator in my civilian life, mainly working on JCBs and doing a lot of site work.

“I’ve done a lot of stuff for the engineers working on their JCBs. I’ve also been out to check points and done work on little things like repairing wells for locals.”